SoftBank quietly sells additional $2.2 bn of its stake in Alibaba Group

SoftBank sold an additional $2.2 billion of its stake in Alibaba Group as part of the Japanese conglomerate’s fundraising effort to pay down debt and buy back its own shares.

The deal, which includes a collar contract and call spread, is expected to be settled between May 2024 and June 2024. The details were disclosed in the SoftBank’s year-end financial filing released on June 25, but have not been previously reported. 

This step is the latest in an unwinding of a relationship between the two firms that spans two decades. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son was an early backer of Jack Ma’s Alibaba and the Chinese e-commerce giant remains his most successful investment by far. In early 2000, Son invested $20 million into the then-unknown web portal connecting Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers, a stake that is now worth more than $150 billion.